Straight talk!

Latest Comments on the Industry

It is important for us as a company to take a stance on the issues of our time. This includes expressing our opinions openly, and getting to the crux of any matter. We therefore frequently express our point of view on topical discussions, issues and developments in our industry. Critically, frankly, directly. In other words, simply straight talk!

… as we have been able to experience to a growing extent in the last few days and weeks. While making our offers for 2016 we learned that in several companies the decision for selecting a system operator is driven not only by price, but also by improved and extensive consultation, speedy communication and the quality of processing.

...is the current discussion about the law on recyclable material. Even before the first draft has been finalised, the whole procedure has already been heavily criticised and some have even announced that it has been aborted.

...for the dual systems currently endeavouring to stabilise the market for returning sales packaging in Germany. After a turbulent few years, everyone is finally moving in the same direction. Many joint measures to strengthen the market have already been implemented, ...

…is the current state of the GemIni initiative. Having been launched just under a year ago with a lot of media hype and the aim of abolishing the dual systems, it now appears as if the initiative is already running out of steam – even before the draft of a recycling law has seen the light of day.

...has been coming out of the chimneys at the headquarters of the dual systems since last week. Although some observers didn’t think it possible, following prolonged and sometimes demanding negotiations a conclusion has been reached: all the system operators have reached an agreement on new inspection guidelines for volume registrations starting in 2015, on provisions for the payment of ancillary charges to the public waste disposal authorities and also on financing of the shortfall for 2014.

… is the promise made by the GemIni initiative – everything will be better once the dual systems have been done away with and the organisation of packaging returns and recycling has been left in the hands of the local authorities. This demand is not new by any means. Nor is the fact that calls of this kind are being made while the most important question of all – i.e. how they plan to finance it – should only be cleared up once responsibility has already passed to the local authorities.

...is one of the objectives of the CDU-SPD coalition government – or at least that is what it says in their coalition agreement. However, the text of the 7th amendment to the German Packaging Ordinance issued by the Federal Government displays very little of this sentiment, and unfortunately there did not seem to be anyone in the German Bundestag – whose committees this amendment left last week – willing to stand up for the principle of competition. Quite the opposite, in fact.

Yesterday in Berlin, the VKU (Association of Municipal Companies) gave a high-profile presentation on a study examining the deficits of the Green Dot system (presumably the packaging disposal system organised by the private sector) and once again called for the dual systems to be scrapped and for everything to be handed over the local authorities to take care of. Nothing new there then. This demand is allegedly backed up by a Forsa survey claiming that 62 per cent of study respondents incorrectly assumed that local authorities were already in charge of disposing of packaging.